Power generation system for physically-coupled vehicles and method of operation thereof

ABSTRACT

A system for coupling a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle and/or for controlling charging/braking by the towed vehicle. The system may include a coupler coupling to the towing vehicle; and first and second tow bars having first and second ends and a rotational joint situated between the first and second ends, the first and second tow bars coupled to the coupler at the first ends and being non-parallel in at least one plane with the second ends located further apart from each other than the first ends. The rotational joint providing for the first and second tow bars to be positioned in an open and a folded position. The second ends of the first and second tow bars are configured to be coupled to the towed vehicle. For charging, a trip distance and charge of a towed vehicle battery is utilized to determine a charging rate for the trip.

FIELD OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM

The present system relates to a power generation system forphysically-coupled vehicles such as tractor-trailer combinations and thelike and, more particularly, to a power generation system and couplingsystem for tractor-trailer and/or recreational type vehicles whichprovides for power generation and storage during a towing operation, andmethods of operation thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM

Typically, self-motorized recreational vehicles (hereinafter RVs) suchas motorhomes, campervans, truck camper (TC) and the like, may providefor transport, living, and sleeping accommodation. Accordingly, RVs mayinclude a kitchen or galley, living and sleeping areas as well as alavatory. Further, the RV may include electronically-powered appliancessuch as water heaters, washing machines, dryers, ovens, microwave ovens,refrigerators, televisions, air-conditioners, and the like. RVs mayinclude a trailer hitch for towing a vehicle such as an automobileattached thereto. When parked, the automobile may then be detached fromthe RV and used for transportation while the RV may remain parked in adesired area such as at a campsite. To power electronically-poweredappliances, the RV may include an internally-stored electrical powersource such as batteries, and/or a generator to provide power to the RVwhen mains power may not be desired or available. Unfortunately, theinternally-carried power source may take valuable space and increaseweight of the mobile home. Further, generators consume fuel, are noisyand need to be running to provide power to the RV. Accordingly,embodiments of the present system may overcome these and otherdisadvantages of conventional systems and methods.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM

The system(s), device(s), method(s), arrangements(s), user interface(s),computer program(s), processes, etc. (hereinafter each of which will bereferred to as system, unless the context indicates otherwise),described herein address problems in prior art systems. Embodiments ofthe present system may provide a system and method for coupling a towingvehicle to a towed vehicle and/or for controlling charging and/orbraking provided by the towed vehicle.

In accordance with embodiments of the present system, there is discloseda system for coupling a towing vehicle to a towed vehicle. The systemmay include a coupler configured to be coupled to the towing vehicle;and first and second tow bars having first and second ends and arotational joint situated between the first and second ends, the firstand second tow bars coupled to the coupler at the first ends and beingnon-parallel to each other in at least one plane such that the secondends are located further apart from each other than the first ends. Therotational joint may include a first rotational joint on the first towbar and a second rotational joint on the second tow bar, the rotationaljoint being configured to provide for the first and second tow bars tobe positioned in an open and a folded position. The second ends of thefirst and second tow bars are configured to be coupled to the towedvehicle.

In accordance with embodiments, the first and second tow bars maysubstantially form an “A” like shape when in the open position and an“M” like shape when in the folded position. The rotational joint maydefine an axis of rotation which extends through the first and secondtow bars. The first and second rotational joints may each define asubstantially common axis of rotation. At least one of the first andsecond tow bars may further include a rotational lock to lock thecorresponding tow bar of the first and second tow bars in an openposition suitable for towing the towed vehicle. The rotational lock mayinclude a plurality of flanges each having an opening, wherein theopenings of adjacent flanges may be aligned with each other when thefirst and second tow bars are in the open position. At least one of thefirst and second tow bars may further include a rotational lock to locka corresponding tow bar of the first and second tow bars in the foldedposition against the towed vehicle.

In accordance with embodiments of the present system, an electricvehicle may include at least one traction motor configured to provide amotive force to rotate at least one wheel of the electric vehicle topropel the electric wheeled vehicle; at least one battery packcomprising a plurality of battery cells and configured to power the atleast one traction motor; and at least one controller circuit configuredto: determine trip distance information (TDI) corresponding to apredetermined distance to be travelled by the electric vehicle whenunder tow by another vehicle, determine charge amount information (CAI)for the battery pack based upon a capacity of the battery pack and acurrent charge of the battery pack, determine rate of charge information(RCI) to be generated by the at least one traction motor in accordancewith the TDI and CAI, the RCI determining a rate of charge of the atleast one battery pack over the predetermined distance, and controlcharging of the at least one battery pack in accordance with the RCI.

In accordance with embodiments, the at least one traction motor may besituated in a hub of at least one wheel of the electric vehicle. Theelectric vehicle may further include a foldable tow bar assemblyconfigured to be coupled to the other vehicle when in an open positionand stored for travel by the electric vehicle independently of the othervehicle when in a folded position. The foldable tow bar assembly may beconfigured to substantially form an “A” like shape when in the openposition and an “M” like shape when in the folded position. The at leastone controller circuit may control a charger of the electric vehicle tocharge the at least one battery pack substantially equally over thepredetermined distance. The RCI may be determined such that the batterypack is charged substantially at an equal rate by distance over thepredetermined distance. The at least one controller circuit may beconfigured to control the at least one traction motor to substantiallyrun in a regenerative mode to generate power to charge the at least onebattery equally over the predetermined distance when the electricvehicle is towed by the other vehicle.

In accordance with embodiments, a control system for an electric wheeledvehicle may include a non-transitory memory including controllerreadable instructions; and at least one controller coupled to thememory. When the controller executes the controller readableinstructions, the controller may be configured to: determine tripdistance information (TDI) corresponding to a predetermined distance tobe travelled by the electric wheeled vehicle when under tow by an othervehicle, determine charge amount information (CAI) for a battery pack ofthe electric wheeled vehicle based upon a capacity of the battery packand a current charge of the battery pack, determine rate of chargeinformation (RCI) to be generated by at least one traction motor of theelectric wheeled vehicle in accordance with the TDI and CAI, the RCIdetermining a rate of charge of the at least one battery pack over thepredetermined distance, and control charging of the at least one batterypack in accordance with the RCI. The at least one controller may befurther configured to charge the battery pack substantially uniformlyover the predetermined distance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is explained in further detail in the followingexemplary embodiments and with reference to the figures, where identicalor similar elements may be partly indicated by the same or similarreference numerals, and the features of various exemplary embodimentsbeing combinable. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a partially-cutaway side view of an articulated vehiclesystem (AVS) in accordance with embodiments of the present system;

FIG. 2 shows a partially-cutaway side view of a portion of accessoryvehicle (AV) with a portion of a trailer hitch assembly (THA) attachedand the tire and wheel assemblies on one side removed in accordance withembodiments of the present system;

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of a portion of an AV with aTHA as may be attached thereto in accordance with embodiments of thepresent system;

FIG. 4 shows a top view of a portion of a tow bar assembly in anextended position in accordance with embodiments of the present system;

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a portion of a tow bar assembly in a foldedposition in accordance with embodiments of the present system;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a portion of a tow bar assembly offset froma folded storing position in accordance with embodiments of the presentsystem;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of a portion of an AVS in accordance withembodiments of the present system;

FIG. 8 shows a functional flow diagram performed by a portion of aprocess in accordance with embodiments of the present system;

FIG. 9 shows a screenshot of a portion of a screen generated by a mobilestation (MS) of the system in accordance with embodiments of the presentsystem; and

FIG. 10 shows a portion of a system in accordance with embodiments ofthe present system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM

The following are descriptions of illustrative embodiments that whentaken in conjunction with the following drawings will demonstrate theabove noted features and advantages, as well as further ones. In thefollowing description, for purposes of explanation rather thanlimitation, illustrative details are set forth such as architecture,interfaces, techniques, element attributes, etc. However, it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodimentsthat depart from these details would still be understood to be withinthe scope of the appended claims. Moreover, for the purpose of clarity,detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, tools,techniques, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the descriptionof the present system. It should be expressly understood that thedrawings are included for illustrative purposes and do not represent theentire scope of the present system. In the accompanying drawings, likereference numbers in different drawings may designate similar elements.The term and/or and formatives thereof should be understood to mean thatonly one or more of the recited elements may need to be suitably present(e.g., only one recited element is present, two of the recited elementsmay be present, etc., up to all of the recited elements may be present)in a system in accordance with the claims recitation and in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present system.

FIG. 1 shows a partially-cutaway side view of an articulated vehiclesystem (AVS) 100 (hereinafter system 100 for the sake of clarity) inaccordance with embodiments of the present system. The system 100 mayinclude a recreational vehicle (RV) 102 which may be coupled to anaccessory vehicle (AV) 104 such as an automobile via a trailer hitchassembly (THA) 106 to enable towing the AV 104 when coupled thereto. TheAV 104 may include motive force to propel itself at least when uncoupledfrom the RV 102. In accordance with embodiments of the present system,the motive force for the AV 104 may be one or more electric motors asdescribed further herein. Advantageously, the one or more motors areutilized for power generation for example to charge a power storagesystem and/or otherwise provide a power source for the AV 104 and/or forthe RV 102 when the AV 104 is being towed by the RV 102.

The system 100 may include a system controller which may include asingle controller (e.g., positioned within the RV 102, the RV 104 orwithin an accessory) or may include a plurality of controllers which maybe located remotely from each other in a distributed fashion. Forexample, the RV 102 may include a controller 141 and the AV 104 mayinclude a controller 140. Each of these controllers 140 and 141, maycomprise a portion of the system controller and may communicate withother portions of the controller and/or external systems. Each of thecontrollers 140 and 141 may control the operation of at least a portionof the system 100 such as to control the generation of power while theAV 104 is being towed. It is envisioned that the controllers 140 and 141may communicate with each other using any suitable wired and/or wirelesscommunication methods.

The controllers 140 and 141 may include one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays, etc.) and/or otherlogic devices and may be local and/or distributed. The controllers 141,140 may include a network interface to communicate with a network and/orbus of the system using any suitable wired, optical, and/or wireless(e.g., Wi-Fi™, Bluetooth™, etc.) communication methods, standards,protocols, etc. As described further herein, the network interface mayalso enable a user to interact with the system 100 such as to monitorparameters of the system 100 such as a charge rate, towing distance,etc.

A communication link 120 may include any suitable wired, optical, and/orwireless communication link or links which may establish communicationfor example between the controller 140 of the AV 104 and the controller141 of the of the RV 102. For example, the communication link 120 mayinclude any suitable wireless communication link such as high-powerand/or a low-power wireless communication links such a Wi-Fi™communication link, a Bluetooth™, Ethernet, a proprietary link, a bus,etc. The communication link 120 may include a network such as a cellularnetwork and/or may further include a wired communication link such asany suitable analog and/or digital wired or optical communication link.The communication link 120 may further be compatible with, identify,and/or be operative with one or more communication protocols, standards,or the like. For example, the communication link 120 may includeportions to establish communication using any suitable-type ofcommunication link such as a controller area network (CAN) buscommunication link and/or the like. The communication link 120 mayfurther include ports and/or wires to receive a wired and/or opticallink to the system 100. It is further envisioned that the communicationlink 120 may be operative using serial and/or parallel communicationmethods.

The communication link 120 may further include a system for transferringpower between the RV 102 and the AV 104, such as a shore power cord ofthe RV 102 and/or the AV 104 although a separate system or link is alsoenvisioned. The communication link 120 may be coupled to the RV 102 atpower port (PP) 162′ and at the AV 104 at PP 162. The PPs 162 and 162′may include a plurality of ports such as communication and/or powerports for transmitting power, such as direct current (DC) and/oralternating current (AC) between the AV 104 and positioned within the RV102, the RV 104 or within an accessory the RV 102. The power port (PP)162 of the AV 104 may be coupled to the controller 140 of the AV 104.The PP 162 may be situated at any location on the AV 104 such as at thefront of the AV 104 and may be operative as a coupler to receive one ormore inputs and/or outputs such as a shore power cord. For example, thePP 162 may be operative as a receptacle with which the shore power cordof the RV 102 may be plugged into the AV 104. The PP 162 may include aplurality of ports which may be distributed about the AV 104 as desired.For example, a port of the PP 162 may be utilized to couple a userinterface to for interacting with the controller 140 such as to set atow distance, charging rate, etc. as described further herein.

The THA 106 may include any suitable coupling system to couple the AV104 to the RV 102 for towing. Details of a ball-type hitch are describedherein for illustrative purposes though the discussion of the THA 106should be understood to similarly apply to other coupling systems. Forexample, other types of coupling methods may be suitably applied, suchas pintle-hook hitch, D-ring hitch, and/or combinations thereof.However, in yet other embodiments other types of hitches are alsoenvisioned. For example, with regard to a ball-type hitch, the THA 106may include a tow ball 108, a shank or ball mount 110, a hitch receiver112, a tow bar assembly (TBA) 124, a hitch coupler 116, a tow bar 121,and secondary supports such as one or more chains 118. The hitchreceiver 112 may be coupled to a frame 114 of the RV 102 and may beconfigured to receive the ball mount 110 to which the tow ball 108 maybe coupled.

The TBA 124 may include the hitch coupler 116. More particularly, thehitch coupler 116 may be situated at an end of the TBA 124 and mayinclude any suitable coupler such as a ball socket configured toremovably receive the tow ball 108 and a hitch lock may be included tolock the tow ball 108 to the hitch coupler 116 with desired degrees oftravel or range of motion relative to the tow ball 108 when locked. Thehitch lock may include any suitable hitch lock which may be configuredto lock unto or otherwise couple to the tow ball 108 or the like.Further, it is envisioned that the tow ball 108 may be substituted witha hook-like coupler, a D-ring, coupler and/or the like.

While any system for coupling the RV 102 to the AV 104 may be suitablyemployed when it is desired that the RV 102 tow the AV 104, a foldableTBA 124 may be employed which facilitates storage of the TBA 124 when itis not in use for towing. In accordance with embodiments of the presentsystem, the TBA 124 may be stored in a folded position up against the AV104 when the AV 104 is decoupled from the RV 102, such as when the AV104 is used for transportation. Further, the TBA 124 may be folded outinto an open position such as when the AV 104 is coupled to the RV 102for towing.

For example, the TBA 124 may include an A-arm type tow bar assemblycomprising first and second extension bars 130, which may be similar toeach other and having first and second ends. A vehicle coupler 126 maycouple a corresponding extension bar 130 of the first and secondextension bars 130 of the AV 104 and may permit the TBA 124 to rotateabout an axis (B_(ROT)) that may be transverse or substantiallytransverse (e.g., plus or minus five degrees) relative to a longitudinalaxis (La) of the AV 104. In this way, the TBA 124 may be folded upagainst the AV 104 for storage when not in use. A rotational joint 132may be situated between the vehicle coupler 126 and the coupler 116 eachof which may be coupled to the first and second extension bars 130 toshorten the frame of the A-arm type tow bar and facilitate storing theTBA 124 against the AV 104 when not in use. Further discussion of theTBA 124 in accordance with embodiments of the present system is providedherein for example with regard to FIGS. 3-6.

The RV 102 includes a tractive power source such as a diesel engine, agasoline engine, and/or the like. The RV 102 may also include one ormore electric motors such as a hybrid gasoline-electric drive system toprovide tractive power to assist the tractive power source of the RV102. The RV 102 may also include a secondary engine which may power apower generator of the RV 102. This power generator may provide power tothe RV 102 to power systems such as air conditioning systems,ventilation systems, cooking systems, entertainment systems, etc., whendesired such as when the AV 104 is not coupled to the RV 102 or isotherwise not being utilized for providing power to the RV 102.

The AV 104 may be any suitable accessory vehicle, such as an electricvehicle, which may be towed by the RV 102 in accordance with embodimentsof the present system. For example, the AV 104 may be an automobile suchas a high or low-speed electric propulsion automobile having an electricpower source such as a battery pack 142 including one or more batterycells and a tractive power source such as at least one traction motor146 for propulsion of the AV 104 when being driven. While the AV 104 mayfor example utilize a gasoline or diesel engine for propulsion, inaccordance with embodiments of the present system, it is advantageous toutilize a traction motor for propulsion of the AV 104. In contrast to agasoline or diesel engine, the traction motor besides providingpropulsion for the AV 104, also may provide regenerative power when theAV 104 is being towed. The regenerative power may be utilized to chargea power source of the AV 104 such as a battery pack of the AV 104 and/orto provide power to the RV 102 without the need of a separate generator.Further discussions herein will focus on the use and advantages of an AV104 utilizing one or more traction motors for propulsion.

Advantageously, the AV 104 may be a low-speed electric vehicle (LEV)also called a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). In operation, the RV102 towing the AV 104 is utilized to drive to a given (remote) locationfor example at highway speeds. Subsequently, the AV 104 is detached fromthe RV 102 and is then utilized for local travel around the givenlocation. By utilizing an LEV as the EV 104, the stress on the RV 102when towing is greatly reduced since typically, its weight issignificantly less than that of a regular automobile. Further, the LEVhaving electric propulsion enables the generation of power when the LEVis being towed as described herein. In this way, even in a case whereinoutside power is not available for charging the LEV between usage, theLEV may be assured of being charged after being towed.

The AV 104 may be supported and/or ride upon a plurality of wheel andtire assemblies 144 including a wheel hub 144H, each positioned within acorresponding wheel well. At least one traction motor 146 may be coupledto one or more wheel and tire assemblies 144 to provide rotationalforce, for example when the AV 104 is separated from the RV 102 and theAV 104 is being driven. The at least one traction motor 146 may beutilized to rotate the one or more wheel and tire assemblies 144associated therewith when the AV 104 is being driven to propel the AV104 under the control of a controller of the system such as thecontroller 140.

While any coupling between the traction motor 146 and the wheel and tireassembly 144 may be utilized such as a drive shaft and differential,each of these components provides for mechanical losses and complexitieswhich may be avoided through the use of a traction motor that isdirectly coupled to drive the wheels of the AV 104. For example, the atleast one traction motor 146 may be situated within the hub 144H (i.e.,in hub motor) of the corresponding wheel and tire assembly 144 so thatthe wheel is directly driven by the motor. An in hub motor also reducesthe weight of the AV 104 making it more desirable for towing byeliminating additional driving components and related weight such as thedrive shaft and differential.

When an in hub motor is utilized to drive the wheels directly, it ispreferred that at least two traction motors 146 be utilized, one on eachof left and right sides of the AV 104. When two traction motors 146 areutilized, the individual motors may be placed within corresponding hubsof the left and right rear (e.g., rear wheel drive) or front (e.g.,front wheel drive) wheel and tire assemblies 144. In a furtherembodiment, four traction motors 146 may be utilized so that each of theleft and right rear and front tire assemblies 144 receives acorresponding one of the four traction motors 146 (e.g., all-wheeldrive).

The at least one traction motor 146 may be formed from any suitable typeof motor such as a permanent magnet motor or DC separately excited fieldtype motor. Both of these motor types provide the ability to act as amotor to move the AV 104 when being powered by a power source and to actas generators providing electrical power during towing of the AV 104and/or when being operated during regenerative braking to slow the AV104 when braking is desired. For example, the at least one tractionmotor 146 may act as a generator under the control of the controller 140when spun by the tire and wheel assembly 144 such as may occur whentowing the AV 104. Further, the at least one traction motor 146 whenrotated by the one or more wheel and tire assemblies 144 associatedtherewith, may perform a braking operation and generate electrical powerwhen performing regenerative braking under the control of a controllerof the system such as the controller 140 and/or the controller 141.Other motor types that have an ability to provide motive force whenpowered and generate power when spun, such as by the wheel and tireassemblies 144, may also be utilized as the at least one traction motor146.

During operation, one or more controllers of the system may select todrive the at least one traction motor 146 synchronously or independentlyof the other during a drive or power mode and to brake the wheel andtire assemblies 144 using a corresponding at least one traction motor146 during a regenerative mode. Thus, it is further envisioned that theat least one traction motor 146 may be controlled (e.g., during a drivemode) to provide a motive force to drive the wheel and tire assemblies144 during a drive or power mode. During towing of the AV 104, it isenvisioned that the at least one motor 146 may generate power (e.g.,electrical power) without slowing the system 100. Further, the at leastone traction motor 146 may be controlled to generate regenerative power(electrical power) during a regenerative mode to absorb kinetic energyfrom a corresponding wheel and tire assemblies 144 to slow the AV 104when braking is desired whether being towed or driven.

When two of more traction motors 146 are provided, then the controllerof the system may control each of the one or more traction motors 146synchronously or independently of the other as may be desired.Accordingly, one of more traction motors 146 may be controlled toprovide a motive force while one or more other traction motors may becontrolled to a provide regenerative power, etc. Further, it should beunderstood that the controller of the system may control each of the oneor more traction motors 146 dependently or independently of each otheras may be desired such that power output and/or regenerative brakingforces on each of the one or more traction motors 146 may be the same asor different from other ones of the one or more traction motors 146.However, for the sake of clarity only a single traction motor such asthe at least one traction motor 146 will be discussed unless the contextindicates otherwise.

By using direct drive (e.g., an in hub motor), disadvantages oftransmission drive systems during towing may be avoided. For example, itis known that automatic transmissions internals may overheat, fail,and/or experience increased wear when towing over a threshold distance(e.g., 30 miles) at relatively low speed (e.g., 50 mph). These problemsare exacerbated at higher speed such as may be experienced when a towedvehicle is towed on highways. Accordingly, these disadvantages andothers may be avoided in using a direct drive motor as the propulsionsystem for the AV 104.

The at least one traction motor 146 may include an electronichub-mounted traction motor or motors situated on a hub of one or morecorresponding wheels 146 of the AV 104. The AV 104 may include aplurality of wheels such as two, three, four, or more wheels. However,for the sake of clarity, the AV 104 may include any suitablefour-wheeled vehicle such as a four-wheel low-speed automobile asillustrated. The AV 104 may include open or closed-style vehicles andmay include a passenger compartment 148 having seating and/or safetysystems (e.g., seatbelts) for one or more passengers.

The AV 104 may further include an inverter and rectifier (I/R) 166, aport 164, and the power port (PP) 162. The IR 166 includes an inverterfor converting a DC source such as the battery 142, to an alternatingcurrent (AC) source. For example, the battery 142 may provide DC powerto the inverter of the IR 166 which converts the DC (e.g., conditionsthe received power) to produce an AC power source. For example, the ACpower from the inverter may be supplied to the RV 102 through the PP162. The IR 166 includes a rectifier for converting AC power from an ACsource, such as the PP 162 when connected to main power or from the atleast one traction motor 146, to DC power, such as to charge the battery142. The rectifier may also be utilized for generating DC from AC powergenerated by the at least one traction motor 146 when the AV 104 isbeing towed and/or during regenerative braking. Power from the IR 166(either AC or DC) may also be provided to a charge of the system and/orto a battery management controller of the system (e.g., see FIG. 7 andrelated discussion) as required depending on whether these systemsrequire AC or DC power for operation. In accordance with embodiments,the rectifier and current limiting circuit (e.g., IR 166, controller140, etc.) may control the power delivery from the at least one tractionmotor 146 to the battery based on information received from a batterymanagement system such as the battery management controller as furtherdescribed herein. Further, the charger of the system may operateindependent of the IR 166 and/or the battery management system forcharging the battery 142 when the AV 104 is plugged into line/mainsvoltage.

In accordance with embodiments of the present system, the IR 166 may beutilized for controlling a charge rate of the battery 142 with orwithout use of a separate battery charger through controlledrectification and/or boosting of the generated power from the at leastone traction motor 146 during regenerative power generation. Further,when using a separately excited DC motor as the at least one tractionmotor 146, changes in the field coil current/voltage may be utilized forcontrolling a charge rate of the battery 142. For example, a reductionin the field current results in a reduction of the voltage generatedduring a constant rotational speed of the separately excited DC motor.Further, an increase in the field current results in an increase of thevoltage generated during a constant rotational speed of the separatelyexcited DC motor. This control of the generated power from the at leastone traction motor 146 when producing regenerative power may be utilizedtogether with or without the battery charger to adjust (increase,decrease) a charge rate of the battery 142, under control of thecontroller 140.

Accordingly, the I/R 166 may be utilized to condition power for use bythe system 100. For example, the I/R 166 may receive a power source ofthe system, such as from a charging cord set via the PP 162. Thereceived power may be sensed and analyzed by a controller of the systemsuch as the controller 140 which may determine how to condition thereceived power. For example, if it is determined that AC power isreceived at the PP 162 (e.g., from a charging cord set), the controller140 may control the I/R 166 to convert the AC power to DC at a desiredcurrent and/or voltage suitable to charge the battery pack 142 withoutuse of a separate battery charger. In accordance with embodiments, thebattery charger of the system may operate independent of the controller140, the IR 166 and/or the battery management system, for charging thebattery 142 for example when the AV 104 is plugged into line/mainsvoltage via the PP 162. However, if it is determined that the DC poweris received at the PP 162 (e.g., from a charging cord set), thecontroller 140 may control the I/R 166 to upconvert and/or down convertthe DC power to DC at a desired current and/or voltage, for example,suitable to charge the battery pack 142, for providing power to the atleast one traction motor 146, for providing power to the port 164, etc.

Similarly, the I/R 166 may receive direct current (DC) (from anysuitable power source of the system such as the battery pack 142, a DCmains obtained via the PP 162, etc., and may convert the DC to AC havingdesired voltage and/or frequency (e.g., 50, 60, etc. Hz) under thecontrol of a controller of the system such as the controller 140. Anoutput of the I/R 166 may be provided to a bus of the AV 104 for use bythe system 100 such as for charging the battery pack 142, for runningthe AV 104, for use by the RV 102, and/or for any other purpose (e.g.,for powering a TV coupled to the RV 102, etc.)

The battery pack 142 of the AV 104 may include any suitable electricalpower source such as one or more battery cells (e.g., lead-acid,lithium, cadmium, etc.), capacitors (e.g., supercapacitors), fuel cells,etc. The PP 162 may include any suitable communication and/or power portfor providing power from/to the AV 104 and/or the RV 102. The PP 162 maybe configured to receive mains power (e.g., AC or DC power or power froma charging cord set) to charge the battery pack 142. Further, the PP 162may provide a port configured to couple to a shore power cord or thelike which may provide power to the RV 102 when the RV 102 draws powerfrom the AV 104. Accordingly, the PP 162 may include a plurality ofinputs and may be configured to determine a type of input being received(e.g., AC, DC, etc.).

The AV 104 may include a device shelf and USB charging receptacle (e.g.,the port 164 which may be wired or wireless) which may be situated at acenter of a dashboard of the AV 104 and which may be configured toprovide for coupling to a mobile station (MS) 170 such as a tablet orphone (e.g., a smart phone such as an I-Phone™ or the like). The port164 may include any suitable type port for communicating with the system100 and/or proving power to and/or receiving power from the system 100such as a USB-type port, a wireless port, etc. In accordance with thepresent system, the port 164 may be utilized for receiving a device suchas the MS 170 so that the device may operate as a user interface forinteracting with the system 100. For example, the MS 170 when coupled tothe port 164 may be configured to function as an instrument panel of theAV 104 and render instrumentation information of the AV 104 such as oneor more of speed, charge (e.g. battery charge, current draw, voltage,etc.), mileage (e.g., odometer, trip meter, etc.), time, radio stations,heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) settings, turn signals,other parameters and/or settings of the AV 104, etc. Further, the MS 170may receive inputs of the user and act accordingly. Accordingly, the MS170 may be configured as an instrumentation display and/or input deviceof the AV 104.

When the AV 104 is being towed by the RV 102, the MS 170 may bewirelessly coupled to the port 164 and may be situated within the RV102. In this way, the MS 170 may be configured to render informationrelated to the system 100 such as a battery bank state of charge of thebattery pack 142, temperature of the battery pack 142 or portionsthereof, etc. Further, the MS 170 may receive inputs from a user and maybe configured to control power draw to/from the battery pack 142 such asfor controlling charging of the battery pack 142 (e.g., during towing ofthe AV 104), etc. Accordingly, the MS 170 may communicate with thesystem using any suitable wired and/or wireless communication methodand/or standard.

The system 100 may include IOS™ and/or Android™ applications to providefor communication with the MS 170 and/or to provide a user interface(UI) (e.g., on a display of the system such as a display of the MS).Through use of these applications, a user such as a driver of the RV 102and/or AV 104, may interact to monitor parameters and/or settings of theAV 104 (e.g., speed, temperature of the battery, temperature of themotors, actual charge or discharge rate, actual battery voltage, setcharge rate, etc.) and/or may control one more features and/or functions(e.g., charge rate, etc.) of the AV 104.

The system 100 may further include a brake controller 168. The brakecontroller 168 may be located at any suitable location such as at the RV102, the THA 106, and/or the AV 104 which is illustratively shown. Thebrake controller 168 may include an interface with which a user mayinteract to adjust settings of the brake controller 168 and at least onesensor which may sense an input such as deceleration, acceleration,brake inputs, etc. of the system 100 and may form corresponding brakingsensor information (which may also be referred to as a braking signal),and provide this information as a braking signal to a controller of thesystem such one or more of the controllers 141 and/or 140. Thecontroller of the system may receive the braking signal and analyze itto determine whether to control the at least one traction motor 146 toapply a regenerative braking force and/or to control (mechanical) brakesof the AV 104. The controller of the system may modulate braking and/orregenerative power in accordance with the braking signal.

For example, if in response to the braking signal it is determined bythe controller 140 to apply regenerative braking of the AV 102, such asin a case wherein regenerative braking is determined to be sufficient toproduce a desired braking force, the controller 140 may be operative tocontrol the at least one traction motor 146 to apply regenerativebraking. Similarly, if in response to the braking signal it isdetermined to apply the brakes of the AV 102, such as in a case whereinregenerative braking is determined to be insufficient to produce adesired braking force, the controller may be operative to apply thebrakes of the AV 102 alone or together with applying regenerativebraking to produce the desired braking force. Accordingly, the brakesand/or the regenerative braking may be applied independently or togetheras needed.

The controller 140 of the system may determine how much braking force isrequired using any suitable method. For example, the brake controller168 may include any suitable trailer brake controller such as a pendulumor rate-type trailer brake controller which may indicate an amount ofbraking force that is being applied by the RV 102 so that the controller140 may selectively activate regenerative braking features and/ormechanical braking systems of the AV 104.

The controller 140 may receive a braking signal from an accelerometer(e.g., as the brake controller 168) and compare the braking signal withone or more brake threshold values to determine whether to selectivelyactivate regenerative braking features and/or mechanical braking systemsof the AV 104. In a pendulum type brake controller, a braking signalindicating a degree of acceleration/deceleration is produced based on adegree and direction of swing of a pendulum from a straight downposition. With the pendulum type brake controller, a degree ofacceleration is determined from the angle that the pendulum points awayfrom the RV 102 and a degree of deceleration is determined from theangle that the pendulum points towards the RV 102.

As an example, the braking signal may indicate an amount of desiredbraking on a scale of zero to ten, with zero indicating no braking andten indicating a maximum desired braking. In this scenario, the systemmay be set so that any braking signal from one to five, is utilized bythe controller 140 to control an amount of braking generated throughregenerative braking with five being the maximum braking that may begenerated by the regenerative braking system. Braking signals from sixto ten may be utilized by the controller 140 to maintain a maximumregenerative braking together with increasingly applying the mechanicalbrakes as the braking signal increases from six (e.g., maximumregenerative braking and minimum mechanical braking) to ten (e.g.,maximum regenerative braking and maximum mechanical braking). Naturally,the desired result is to produce the amount of braking that is indicatedas required by the braking signal so that the amount of brakingresulting from either of the regenerative braking system and themechanical brakes may be set differently than the simplified exampleprovided above. For example, the processor 140 may be set so thatmechanical braking occurs prior to the regenerative braking being at amaximum and/or more or less braking force may be applied by eitherbraking systems in response to the braking signal.

The controller 140 using a signal from the brake controller may thencontrol the at least one traction motor 146 of the AV 104 to provide aregenerative braking force and/or activate mechanical brakes of the AV104 to safely assist the RV 102 (towing the AV 104) in deceleratingand/or stopping both of the RV 102 and the towed AV 104. The brakecontroller may further determine whether to apply regenerative brakingand/or to apply mechanical brakes of the AV 104 in accordance withsystem and/or user settings which may be obtained from a memory of thesystem and/or may be determined from the braking signal which forexample may be indicative of how much force is being applied to abraking pedal. For example, in a case wherein the braking signalindicates more deceleration is desired than is available fromregenerative braking, mechanical braking may also be applied in additionto or in place of the regenerative braking. In this way, the AV 104 mayassist the RV 102 when decelerating, for example by biasing upon thepermanent magnet motor rectification or by increasing/decreasing theseparately excited DC motor's field. Further, to assist withregenerative braking, a resister may be switched across motor leads toprovide a load to effectuate braking. The switching of the resister maybe modulated according to the amount of braking force required as forexample may be indicated by the braking signal. For example, byincreasing/decreasing the separately excited DC motor's field, theinduced back electromotive force (back EMF) from the field inductor ofthe may be correspondingly increased/decreased therebyincreasing/decreasing the braking force during regenerative braking.This may effectively add dynamic braking using a typical brakecontroller and assists the RV 102 in stopping while the AV 104 iscoupled to the RV 102. In this way, the present system may replaceconventional brake operator units that may be used with a conventionaltowed vehicle to provide such stopping assistance. Further, since thebrake controller input may share the control of the permanent magnetmotors rectification or the DC separately excited motor's field control,charging and braking work simultaneously.

FIG. 2 shows a partially-cutaway side view of a portion of the AV 104with a portion of the THA 106 attached and the tire and wheel assemblieson one side removed to reveal each of the at least one traction motor(s)146 in accordance with embodiments of the present system. The AV 104 isshown with the at least one traction motor 146 in each wheel hub of theplurality of tire and wheel assemblies 144 of the AV 104. However, inyet other embodiments it is envisioned that a single one of the at leastone traction motor 146 may be provided in selected wheel hubs 144H ofthe plurality of tire and wheel assemblies 144 of the AV 104. Asdiscussed, the tire and wheel assemblies 144 may be coupled directly tothe one or more traction motors 146 associated therewith or may becoupled via a driveshaft, gear set, a transmission, a chain or beltdrive, etc., and/or any other intervening member or members.

The AV 104 may include windows 105 (one of which is shown in an openposition to reveal the passenger compartment 148. A battery pack 142 maybe situated in any suitable location aboard the AV 104 such as under afloor pan 150 of the AV 104. One or more suspension arms 149 may beprovided to control the position and/or orientation of the tire andwheel assemblies 144 relative to a chassis of the AV 104. One or more ofthe suspension arms 149 may be rigid or may be spring-like as may bedesired. For example, one or more of the suspension arms 149 may includetransverse or longitudinal leaf springs as may be desired. Dampeners 151may be provided to dampen motion of corresponding wheel and tireassemblies 144 and may be passive or may be actively controlled by acontroller of the system. The AV 104 may be suspended using one or moresprings 153 situated at each of the tire and wheel assemblies 144. It isenvisioned that one or more of the springs 153 may be passive oractively controlled by a controller of the system. The springs 153 mayinclude springs of any suitable type such as leaf, coil, torsion, air(e.g., pneumatic, etc.), oil and/or combinations thereof.

As shown and previously described, each of the vehicle couplers 126 maybe coupled to a corresponding extension bar 130 and to one or moresupport members 129 of the AV 104 such as a bumper, a chassis crossbrace, or the like (e.g., a chassis cross member, a towing hitch mount,etc.). Each of vehicle couplers 126 may include at least one joint toprovide a desired degree of travel and/or range of motion to the supportarm 130 attached thereto about at least one axis such as about the axisof rotation B_(ROT) which is substantially transverse to thelongitudinal axis (LA) of the AV 104.

Each of the vehicle couplers 126 may be provided with a pin 127 aboutwhich the corresponding support arms 130 (or portions thereof) mayrotate as illustrated by arrow 123. Accordingly, the pin 127 may beoperative as a hinge pin to couple vehicle couplers 126 to correspondingsupport arms 130. The support arms 130 may include first and secondportions 130-1 and 130-2, that may be rotationally coupled to each otherby the rotational joint 132. More particularly, the rotational joint 132may be configured to provide for the rotation of the first and secondportions 130-1 and 130-2 relative to each other about an axis ofrotation A_(ROT) of the rotational joint 132. The axis of rotationA_(ROT) is parallel to the axis of rotation B_(ROT) and is alsosubstantially transverse to the longitudinal axis (LA) of the AV 104.

A rotational lock 152 may be configured to rotationally lock the firstand second portions 130-1 and 130-2 relative to each other so as toprevent rotation of the first and second portions 130-1 and 130-2relative to each other. The rotational lock 152 may include a pluralityof flanges 154 each having an opening through which a pin or the like(e.g., a rod, a bolt, etc.) may be situated when in the locked positionas described in more detail below.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view 300 of a portion of the AV 104with the THA 106 as may be attached thereto in accordance withembodiments of the present system. For attaching the AV 104 to the THA106, pins 127 may be inserted into and extend through correspondingopenings 169 of the vehicle coupler 126 and openings 131 of the supportarm 130. To ensure the positioning of the pins 127 through the openings169, 131 is maintained, the pins 127 may be locked in place by anysuitable lock such as locking pins 158 (e.g., cotter pin, R-clip, etc.)which may extend through corresponding opening 139 of the pins 127. Itis envisioned that other suitable locking methods such as bolts, rivets,rods, etc. may also be used as the pins 127.

The vehicle couplers 126 may include one or more flanges such as flanges126-F that may be spaced apart from each other to receive an end of thecorresponding support arms 130. The vehicle couplers 126 may be coupledto the one or more support members 129 of the AV 104 using any suitablemethod such as bolt and nut assemblies 161 or the like. However, it isalso envisioned that other suitable methods for attaching the vehiclecouplers 126 to the one or more support members 129 such as welding,rivets, pins, etc. may be employed. However, in yet other embodiments,it is envisioned that the vehicle couplers 126 may be formed integrallywith the one or more support members 129 of the AV 104. Regardless ofthe attachment method, when the flanges 126 are coupled the to the firstand second extension bars 130, the combination may form a hinge havingthe axis of rotation B_(ROT) which may extend through the openings 131in the first and second extension bars 130. The axis of rotation B_(ROT)enables the TBA 124 to rotate, relative to the vehicle couplers 126, andswing upward against the AV 104 for storing the TBA 124 as furtherdescribed herein.

The TBA 124 may, when extended, form a A-arm type tow bar assemblycomprising the first and second extension bars 130 (generally extensionbars 130) with an apex at the vehicle coupler 116. With regard to thevehicle coupler 116, it may be fixedly or rotatably coupled to the firstand extension bars 130 as may be desired.

With regard to the rotational locks 152, each of the flanges 154 mayinclude an opening 155 and may be located relative to the correspondingfirst and second portions 130-1 and 130-2 of the corresponding first andsecond extension bars 130 such that the openings 155 of adjacent flangesmay be aligned when the tow bar assembly 124 is extended. To lock theTBA 124 into an extended position, a pin 157 may extend though theopenings 155 of adjacent flanges 154 to prevent rotation of therotational locks 152 and, thus, prevent rotation of the first and secondportions 130-1 and 130-2 relative to each other. A locking pin 159 maybe similar to the locking pin 158 and may extend through an opening ofeach of the locking pins 159 to hold the pins 157 in place relative tothe flanges 154 through which the pins 157 extend. It is envisioned thatthe pin 157 may be easily removed from the openings 155 of adjacentflanges 154 through which it extends to permit rotation of therotational locks 152 and, thus, permit rotation of the correspondingfirst and second portions 130-1 and 130-2 of the extension bars 130relative to each other. It is envisioned that the rotational locks 152may be aligned so that the rotational joints 132 respective axis ofrotation A_(ROT) are aligned with each other. The axis of rotationA_(ROT) enables the corresponding first and second portions 130-1 and130-2 to rotate relative to each other to enable shortening an extensionof the TBA 124 as further described herein.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of a portion of the TBA 124 in an extendedposition in accordance with embodiments of the present system. As shown,the extended position of the TBA 124 is utilized when the TBA 124 isutilized for towing the AV 104. Illustratively, the tow bar assembly 124may form an “A” like shape when extended such as for towing.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of a portion of the TBA 124 in a folded(shortened) position in accordance with embodiments of the presentsystem. When transitioning from the extended position shown in FIG. 4 tothe folded position shown in FIG. 5, the first and second portions 130-1and 130-2 are rotated 180° relative to each other about the axis ofrotation A_(ROT). Illustratively, the TBA 124 is shown forming an “M” or“W” like shape when in the folded position such as when the TBA 124 isfolded for storing.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a portion of the TBA 124 offset from afolded storing position in accordance with embodiments of the presentsystem. To facilitate storing of the TBA 124 against the AV 104, the AV104 may include flanges 160 which may be similar to the flanges 154 andincludes openings therethrough. The flanges 160 are positioned on afront end of the AV 104 to be adjacent to corresponding ones of theflanges 154 when the TBA 124 is in the folded storing position.

In FIG. 6, the TBA 124 is shown slightly offset from a (fully) foldedstoring position to facilitate separate visualization of the flange 160relative to the flange 154. When the TBA 124 is in the folded storingposition by rotating the first and second extension bars 130 towards theAV 104, the openings that extend through corresponding ones of theflanges 154 (e.g., the flanges 154 closest to the AV 104) and theflanges 160 are aligned. For example, once the TBA 124 is folded asshown in FIG. 5, the TBA 124 may be rotated about the axis of rotationB_(ROT) so that the TBA 124 is positioned adjacent to the front end ofthe AV 104. Once the openings that extend through corresponding ones ofthe flanges 154 and the flanges 160 are aligned, each of the flanges 160are positioned and configured to be coupled to an adjacent one of theflanges 154 for example using a pin similar to pin 157 to lock thefolded TBA 124 in the folded storing position relative to the AV 104.For example, a pin (e.g., similar to, or the same as pin 157) may beinserted through the openings of adjacent flanges 154 and 160 that arealigned such that the pin may extend through the aligned openings tocouple the corresponding ones of the flanges 154 and 160 to each otherto hold the folded TBA 124 in the folded storing position relative tothe AV 104. In this way, the flanges 154 may be configured to lock thetow bar assembly 124 in the folded storing position and to lock the towbar assembly 124 in the extended position such as when towing the AV104.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of a portion of an articulated vehiclesystem (AVS) 700 (hereinafter system 700 for the sake of clarity) inaccordance with embodiments of the present system. The system 700 may beprovided as a portion of the AV 104 and may include a controller 740, amemory 776, one or more sensors 774, a charger 772, a network 710, amobile station (MS) 770, a battery management system 743, a battery pack742, a charger 772, a drive inverter/rectifier (I/R_(D)) 766-1, anoutput inverter/rectifier (I/R_(O)) 766-2 (generally IRs 766), as wellas a first and second traction motors 746-1 and 746-2 (generally motors746-x). While two traction motors are illustratively shown in FIG. 7,the present system may operate with one or more traction motors (e.g.,1, 2, 3, 4 or more).

The controller 740 may control the overall system 700 and as such, maycommunicate with and/or control one or more of the memory 776, thesensors 774, the charger 772, the network 710, the MS 770, the batterymanagement system 743, the battery pack 742, the I/R_(D) 766-1, theI/R_(O) 766-2, the traction motors 746-x and/or a brake controller (suchas the brake controller 168). As discussed, the charger 772 may alsooperate independent of the I/RD 766-1 and/or the battery managementsystem 743 for charging the battery 142 for example when plugged intoline/mains voltage.

The controller 740 may be similar to the controller 140 as describedwith reference to FIG. 1 and may include one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors, logic devices, etc.) and may be local and/ordistributed relative to each other when more than one processor isutilized. The controller 740 may further include a network interface tocommunicate with the network 710 and/or bus of the system using anysuitable wired, optical, and/or wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi™, Bluetooth™,etc.) communication methods, standards, and/or protocols. For example,the controller 740 may include bidirectional Bluetooth™ radioconnectivity for communicating with the MS 770.

The network 710 may include any suitable network or communication busover which one or more portions of the system 700 may communicate. Thenetwork 710 may employ wired, wireless, and/or optical communicationmethods, networks, etc. For example, the network 710 may include aBluetooth™ network, a Wi-Fi™ network, a telephony network, and/or thelike.

The sensors 774 may sense one or more operating parameters of the systemsuch as parameters of the AV 104 including one or more of batterytemperature (battery pack, battery bank, battery cell, etc.), batterycoolant temperature, battery charge level, battery charge and/ordischarge rates, coolant temperature, wheel bearing temperature(s), HVACsettings, ambient temperature, inside temperature, brake temperature,bearing temperature, EV travel speed, temperature and/or load of themotors 746-x, speed of the motors 746-x, etc., and form correspondingsensor information. One or more of the sensors 774 may be included as aportion of the battery changer 772 and/or may be included as a portionof the battery management system 743. The sensor information from theone or more corresponding sensors 774 may then be provided to thecontroller 740 for further processing. For example, the controller 740may utilize the sensor information for determining adjustments to systemsettings. Further, it is envisioned that the parameter information maybe output on a user interface (UI) of the system, such as a display 771of the MS 770, for the convenience of the user and/or to enable the userto adjust one or more system settings, such as a charge rate of thebattery 742.

The memory 776 may include any suitable memory in which informationgenerated by the system such as operating parameters received from theone or more sensors 774, charge/discharge rate, etc., may be stored, aswell as user settings, system settings, vehicle settings, programminginstructions for configuring the controller 740 to operate as described,and/or the like. The memory 776 may include any non-volatile memory andmay be local and/or distributed (e.g., a surface area network (SAN) typememory or the like). For example, the controller 740 may generateinformation related to a trip and/or charging/discharging and mayinteract with the memory 776 to store this information and/or may laterretrieve the stored information.

The battery pack 742 may be local or distributed and may include one ormore battery banks each of which may include one or more cells orbatteries such as lithium-ion type cells and/or other suitable batterycells. The charger 772 may include any suitable charging system forcharging the battery pack 742 independent of or under the control of thecontroller 740 and in accordance with one or more user and/or systemsettings. For example, a user may determine a trip distance (TD) (e.g.,200 miles) for a current trip which is a predetermined distance that theRV (e.g., 102) is to tow the AV (e.g., 104) over a route of the trip.The TD may be mapped by the system (e.g., the controller 740) and/or auser and may have a corresponding travel route. In this way, knowing acurrent charge that is present on the battery pack 742 (e.g., a chargein percent, such as 50%) before embarking on the trip and knowing thecharge capacity (e.g. CAP=100 kWh) of the battery pack 742, the system700 (e.g., the controller 740) may determine a desired charge rate (CR)for the battery pack 742 over the predetermined distance (e.g., over theroute) such that the battery pack may be evenly charged over the courseof the route. For example, knowing that the battery is 50% charged andit is rated at 100 kWh, the controller 740 may determine that thebattery pack requires 50 kWh of charge to be fully charged. Then,knowing that the trip is 200 miles, the controller 740 may divide thisvalue by the trip distance to determine the desired charge in kWhdivided by the predetermined distance. In this example, the desiredcharge rate would be 50 kWh/200 miles=0.25 kWh/mile. Accordingly, thesystem may set the charge rate equal to this value for the current trip.

The battery charger 772 may monitor a condition of the battery pack 742to determine a current charge of the battery pack 772. Knowing thecharge and an expected towing distance, the controller 740 and/or thebattery management system 743 may determine a desired rate of charge ofthe battery pack 742. Thereafter, through the charger 772 and/or theI/R_(D) 766-1, the controller 740 may control charging of the batterypack 742 such that the battery pack 772 is properly charged while the EV104 is being towed. When powering with a permanent motor, the amount ofrectification may be controlled using a processor in order to controlthe charging. In embodiments using a separately excited motor, aparticular field (e.g., having a given field strength) may be applied tochange the battery charging accordingly.

The battery management system 743 may monitor a charge/discharge rate,temperature, voltage, etc., of the battery pack 742 or portions thereofsuch as one or more of individual cells, batteries, and/or banks of thebattery pack 742. For example, while the EV 104 is being towed, thebattery management system 743 may monitor the battery pack 742 and maydetermine that the battery pack 742 is charging faster or slower thandesired. The battery management system 743 may provide the measuredcharge rate to the controller 740 so that the charge rate of the batterypack 742 may be suitably adjusted (e.g., increased or decreased) toprovide a fully charged battery pack 742 by the time a towingdestination is reached. For example, while a desired charge rate may becalculated in advance (e.g., 0.25 kWh/mile), an actual charge rateduring towing may be determined which may vary from the desired chargerate, for example due to towing conditions such as traffic, regenerativebreaking, battery usage during towing, etc. In this way, the actualcharge rate of the battery pack 742 may be more or less than the desiredcharge rate. In these cases, the controller 740 may increase or decreasethe charge rate through suitable control of the I/R 766-1 and/or thecharger 772 to provide a fully charged battery at the end of the trip.

When receiving power from mains power (e.g., via a charging cord setcoupled to the PP), the charger 772 may, independent of or under thecontrol of the controller 740, determine to charge the battery pack 742partially or fully depending upon system and/or user settings. As usedherein, it should be understood that mains power may refer to powerreceived from one or more sources such as conventional mains, anexternal generator, other batteries or storage devices, solar cells,wind turbines, water turbines, and/or the like. A charging cord set mayprovide the mains power to a port of the system such as the port PP 762which, in turn, may provide the mains power to the charger 772. Thus,for example, the charger 772 may receive power from one or more sourcesof power such as from mains power, a conventional electric-car chargingstation, RV park power, standard 110V/220 outlet, and/or the like andmay charge the battery pack 742 together with or independent from thebattery management system 743, the I/R_(D) 766-1, etc., using thisreceived power. Accordingly, one or more PPs of the system such as thePP 762 may be configured to couple to the one or more power sourcesusing corresponding ports. For example, the PP 762 may include a portfor coupling to an AC main power, a DC fast charge port, an EVSE, a fastcharger (e.g., a level 3, level 4, etc.), a level 2 charger, etc.

More particularly, the charger 772 may condition (e.g., by converting ACpower to DC power) the incoming power to a desired voltage, current,and/or waveform (e.g., 48V, 20A, DC) and provide the conditioned powerto the battery pack 742 for charging one or more of the batteries of thebattery pack 742. The charger 772 may also provide conditioned power toother portions of the system 700. In accordance with embodiments, thecharger may be independent of or operate as a portion of the I/R 766-xsince both are capable of conditioning incoming power, whether from thePP 762 or from the motors 746-x. For example, the rectifier and currentlimiting circuit (e.g., the I/R 766-x) may control the power deliveryfrom the one or more of the motors 746-x to the battery pack 742 basedon information received from the battery management system 743. Further,the charger 772 may operate independent of the I/R 766-x and/or thebattery management system 743 for charging the battery pack 742, forexample when the AV is plugged into line/mains voltage such as throughthe PP 762.

When in the regenerative mode, one or more of the motors 746-x maygenerate power and provide this power to the I/R_(D) 766-1. The I/R_(D)766-1 may condition this generated power (e.g., by converting theincoming power to a desired voltage and/or current, e.g., 72V, 20A, DC)and provide the conditioned power to the battery pack 742 (directly)and/or may provide the conditioned power to the charger 772 for chargingone or more of the batteries of the battery pack 742. As appreciated, inaccordance with embodiments the charger 772 may not be required forcharging the battery pack 742, for example when in regenerative mode asthe I/RD 766-1 may provide the conditioned power to the battery pack 742directly, for example under control of the battery management system743.

In accordance with embodiments of the present system, the regenerativemode may be continuous, although the power produced may vary, as the AV104 is being towed whether or not regenerative braking is occurring.Accordingly, embodiments of the present system may capture energy fromone or more of the motors 746-x substantially (e.g., mostly) during theentire period while the AV 104 is being towed by the RV 104. In thisway, the regenerative mode is due to regenerative braking, which may beused to assist braking, and also is due to regenerative charging whichmay occur during periods of towing when regenerative braking is notbeing applied (e.g., during steady-state highway cruising, etc.).

The battery pack 742 may be utilized for powering the system 700 asdesired. Further, when power from the battery pack 742 is desired forproviding power to an external device (e.g., RV 102), the battery pack742 may provide a power signal to the I/R_(O)-766-2 which may thencondition this power signal to conform to a desired output type (e.g.,AC, DC), voltage and/or waveform. The I/R_(O)-766-2 may provide theconditioned power signal as an output power source such as at a PP 762′.

The MS 770 may include any suitable mobile station such as a smart phone(e.g., an Android™ phone, an I-Phone™, etc.), a tablet computer (e.g., aI-Pad™, etc.), laptop and/or the like. The MS 770 may communicate viaany suitable wired and/or wireless connection with the system 700 suchas via a Bluetooth™ connection via network 710, and/or via a wiredconnection such as via a USB port of the system 700 which may be coupledto the controller 740. An application may be provided to configure theMS 770 to communicate with the controller 740. This application mayfurther be configured to output a user interface (UI) with which a usermay interact with the system. Accordingly, the UI may displayinformation generated by the system 700 and may receive a user input(e.g., via a user input device such as a touchscreen, a keyboard, amouse, a trackball, a stylus, etc.) to adjust one or more settings ofthe system 700, such as charging rate.

It should be appreciated that by relying upon battery power of the AV topower the RV when parked, embodiments of the present system may reduceor entirely eliminate the need for having/using a generator.Accordingly, problems such as fuel, emissions, noise, and maintenanceassociated with using the generator to power the RV, may be eliminated.

FIG. 8 shows a functional flow diagram performed by a portion of aprocess 800 in accordance with embodiments of the present system andFIG. 9 shows a screenshot 900 of a portion of a screen and related userinterface (UI) generated by an MS of the system in accordance withembodiments of the present system. Referring to FIG. 8, the process 800may be performed using one or more processors, computers, controllers,etc., communicating over a network and/or a bus of the system and mayobtain information from, and/or store information to, one or morememories which may be local and/or remote from each other. The process800 may include one of more of the following acts. Further, one or moreof these acts may be combined and/or separated into sub-acts, asdesired. Further, one or more of these acts may be skipped dependingupon settings. In operation, the process may start during act 801 andthen proceed to act 803. The process may control an RV and/or an AVand/or provide communication between these two vehicles. Further, one ormore of the acts may be combined or split into sub-acts.

During act 803, the process may obtain trip information (TI) for acurrent trip. The TI may include information related to start, stop, andend information which may be referred to as start (e.g., a trip startlocation), stop (e.g. rest stop location(s), etc.) and end (e.g., a tripend) locations, respectively. For example, with regard to a startlocation, this location may correspond with a current location of one ormore of an RV, an AV, and/or an MS of the system as may be set by thesystem and/or user. It is further envisioned that the system may obtain(e.g., via a GPS locator or the user) a geophysical location and/or anaddress (e.g., 123 Anyplace Dr., USA) information and may use thisinformation to determine start, stop, and/or end locations. In thefollowing examples an address such as a street address may be shown anddiscussed for the sake of clarity. However, when a street address isentered or otherwise obtained by the system, the system may convert thestreet address to a geophysical location and/or vice versa.

For the sake of clarity, it will also be assumed that the location ofthe RV, the AV, and/or the MS may be assumed to be the same.Accordingly, the system may determine the location of the MS using anysuitable location method such as employing a location method usingglobal positioning system (GPS) information and/or a triangulationsystem. Accordingly, the system may include a locator such as atriangulator (e.g., mobile-phone-based locator, etc.), a GPS system,etc. which may determine a current location of the MS, RV, and/or AV asmay be set by the system and/or the user.

In accordance with embodiments of the present system, to determine thestart and/or end locations, the system may request this informationdirectly from a user of the system. Accordingly, the system may generateand/or render on a UI of the system, such as a UI of the MS, a promptrequesting the user to enter a starting address (e.g., 123 Anyplace Dr.,USA) or location. However, it is envisioned that the system maydetermine a starting address or location based upon a current locationor address of the MS. It is envisioned that the system may determine astart location using a user selection on a map rendered by the system ona UI of the system. For example, the system may render a map on a UI ofthe system and a user may select one or more locations on this map suchas a start location (address) and/or an end location (or address) and/ora route.

It will be assumed that the user may enter an end location similarly tothe method used to enter the start location (e.g., by direct addressentry such as 345 Main St. USA as shown in a start and stop informationselection items 907 of FIG. 9). More particularly, the start and stopinformation entry area 907 may be populated by information input by auser directly or through another method such by direct conversion of mapinformation (e.g., indicative of the start and stop locations). However,other methods of populating the start and end locations may also beemployed such as extracting start and stop location information from anelectronic message (e.g., an email, etc.) or webpage received by the MSand selected by the user.

After completing act 803, the system may continue to act 805 where itmay determine a distance of the trip which may be referred to as tripdistance (TD) and which may be a predetermined distance. The system maydetermine the TD using one of several methods such as a direct input(e.g., 40 miles) as shown in a TD display area 909. However, a user mayedit the TD using any suitable entry method such as by using selectionitems 911 to adjust the TD or from analysis of start and end locationinformation and/or selected route information. For example, the systemmay determine the TD based upon route information (e.g., determinedusing a mapping program of the system or a third-party mapping programsuch as Google Maps™ or the like) which may determine a routecorresponding to the start and stop locations so as to link the startand end locations. The system may determine route information for one ormore routes which may link the start and end locations. The system mayprovide for a user to select one or more of these routes and/or adefault route (e.g., shortest distance) may be selected such as a leastdistance route.

Referring to FIG. 9, a map selection item 923 or a map representation913 may be selected by the user to render a map. Accordingly, when it isdetermined that the user has selected the map selection item 923 or themap representation 913, the system may render a map corresponding to apredetermined location such as a current location of the MS or alocation selected by the user. The system may render the routeinformation as well as the start, stop, and end location information onthe rendered map. Then, the user may select one of the routescorresponding with the route information. However, in yet otherembodiments, it is envisioned that the user may select a route basedupon criteria such as shortest distance, etc.

Once the route is selected or otherwise determined, the system maydetermine TD in accordance with the selected route and/or may displaythis information in a TD display area (e.g., 909 of FIG. 9). A user maythen adjust the determined TD directly or by using arrows 911.

It is envisioned that the user may enter the TD directly in which casethe system may set the TD according to the user's entry. Accordingly,the system may generate and render a distance selection area (e.g., see,909 of FIG. 9) in which a user may enter or adjust a trip distancedirectly (e.g., using arrows 911). After completing act 805, the systemmay continue to act 807.

During act 807, the system may determine battery charge (e.g., inkilowatt hour (kWh) or % of full charge or a charge range (e.g., 20-80%to increase battery life), etc., as may be selected by the system and/oruser) of the battery pack (or a portion thereof) of the AV. The batterycharge may be represented in any suitable unit such as kWh. For example,knowing that the battery pack is rated at 100 kWh (e.g., rated capacity(RC) and that it is currently 60% charged (e.g., current capacity (CC)),then the system may calculate RC−(RC*CC)=100 kWh−(100 kWh*0.60)=40 kWh.This may be referred to as a desired trip charge (TC) and may correspondto an amount of charge that the battery pack is to be charged over themileage of the current trip. The system may employ tables stored in amemory of the system to lookup the TC in kWh and/or other units.

It is also envisioned that the system may determine battery charge usingany suitable method or methods as may be known in the art. Aftercompleting act 807, the system may continue to act 809. During act 809,the system may determine a desired charge rate (CR) (e.g., in anysuitable unit such as watt hours/mile (Wh/mi) or the like) in accordancewith the determined battery charge or value of TC and the determined TD.For example, the system may determine CR by dividing the TC by the tripdistance (TD), e.g., TC/TD, to obtain the charge rate (per unit such asa mile) for the current trip.

For example, assuming that the TC as set forth above is 40 kWh and TD is40 miles then 40 kWh/40 mi=1 kWh/mi=1000 Wh/mi. The determined CR may bereferred to as a desired charge rate for the current trip. Once thesystem determines the CR, it may determine charge rate settings (CRS)for the determined charge rate (CR).

The CRS may set forth settings and/or parameters to obtain the desiredcharge rate and may be used to control various portions of the systemsuch as a charger of the system and/or IR_(D) of the system. The CRSsettings may be stored in a memory of the system (e.g., as a lookuptable) with corresponding desired charge rate settings and/or settingsmay be interpolated for the determined charge rate. The system mayprovide an interface with which a user may interact view, modify, and/orselect the desired charge rate. For example, the system may then controlthe charger and/or one or more IRs of the system, such as the drive IR,in accordance with the CRS signal such that a desired amount ofregenerative power may be obtained while the AV is being towed.

For example, with reference to FIG. 9, the system may render informationgenerated by the system such as the current TD (e.g., see 909), themiles to full charge (e.g., see, 925), and/or the determined CR (e.g.,see 927) for the current trip. The user may modify any of these settings(e.g., the current trip distance, the miles to full charge, and/or thedetermined charge rate) using any suitable method such as arrows 929,911, etc., or using a direct entry using an input device such as througha virtual keyboard rendered on the UI, etc.

It is envisioned that the system may update information in real time.Accordingly, when one of the current trip distance, the miles to fullcharge, and/or the determined charge rate is modified by the user, thesystem may update the other related variables of the current tripdistance, the miles to full charge, and/or the determined charge rateand render the updated values in real time on a UI of the system. Thus,for example, if the user updates the charge rate to 400 Wh/mi, then thesystem may determine that the miles to full charge is 80 miles and thetrip distance may be 40 miles. However, if the user updates the chargerate to 1600 Wh/mi, then the system may determine that the miles to fullcharge is 20 miles. However, the trip distance may remain at 40 miles.The system may determine expected battery charge at the end of thecurrent trip using the determined or updated current trip distance, themiles to full charge, and/or the determined charge rate. Thus, forexample, if the expected battery charge at the end of the current tripis determined to be 95%, the system may render this information on auser interface of the system (e.g., see, arrows 931) which may beupdated in real time. With regard to the trip distance, this distancemay reflect a distance that the AV is to travel under tow by the RV.After completing act 809, the process may continue to act 811.

During act 811, the process may determine whether the current trip hasstarted. Accordingly, if it is determined that the current trip hasstarted, the process may continue to act 813. However, if it isdetermined that the current trip has not started, the process may repeatact 811. It may be determined that the current trip has started when theuser selects to start the current trip such as by selecting a start keywhich may be a hard or soft key and may be rendered on a UI of thesystem. However, it is also envisioned that the system may determine tostart the current trip when it is determined that the MS is moving at aspeed that is greater than a threshold speed (e.g., 5 miles/hour, etc.)as may be set by the system and/or the user. Accordingly, when it isdetermined that the MS is moving at a speed that is greater than orequal to the threshold speed, the process may determine to start thecurrent trip. However, if it is determined that the MS is not moving ata speed that is greater than the threshold speed, the process maydetermine that the current trip has not yet started.

Once the trip is determined to have started, during act 813 the systemmay determine whether the MS (and, thus, the AV) is stopped includingwhether the trip destination has been reached. Accordingly, if the MS isdetermined to be stopped or otherwise has reached the trip destination,the system may continue to act 825. However, if it is determined thatthe MS has not reached the trip destination, the system may continue toact 815.

During act 825, the system may use power from the battery pack of the AVto power the AV or provide electrical power to the RV via a shore linewhich couples the RV to the AV. During this act, the system may controlan output IR to obtain battery power from the battery pack of the AV,convert this power to a desired waveform, frequency, and/or voltage, forusage by the AV during driving or output this converted signal to the RVvia the shore line. After completing act 825, the system may repeat act813 such as when the MS has not reached the trip destination. For thesake of clarity, it will be assumed that the operating system of the RVand/or AV may consume a negligible amount of power.

During act 815, the system may determine whether the RV is braking. Thesystem may determine whether the RV is braking based upon a brake switchsensor signal (e.g., which may indicate when the brakes of the RV areapplied) or an input signal from a brake controller (e.g., a brakesignal) which may indicate whether the brakes are being applied.Accordingly, a controller of the system may obtain the brake switchsensor signal and/or the brake signal and analyze one or more of thesesignals to determine whether the RV is braking. When it is determinedthat the RV is braking, the system may continue to act 819. However,when it is determined that the RV is not braking, the system maycontinue to act 817.

During act 817, the system may be operative to perform a regenerativemode in which the system may control the at least one traction motor ofthe AV to generate regenerative power to charge the battery pack of theAV in accordance with the CR information. Accordingly, the system maycontrol the charger of the AV, the drive I/R and/or the at least onetraction motors to generate regenerative power to charge the batterypack of the AV in accordance with the desired CR information. Thischarging may be considered to be a steady-state charging over thedistance of the current trip (e.g., the TD). If the AV has a pluralityof traction motors, it may be assumed that each of these motors may beequally controlled to contribute an equal amount of power to generatethe regenerative power to charge the battery pack. After completing act817, the system may continue to act 821.

During act 819, the system may be operative to perform a regenerativemode in which the system may control the at least one traction motor ofthe AV to generate regenerative braking power in accordance with abraking signal (e.g., from the brake controller) and/or system settings.This regenerative braking power may be the same as, less than, orgreater than, the regenerative power generated during act 817 and mayvary based upon the braking signal. Thus, the braking system may remainbalanced when the brakes of the combination RV and AV are applied andmay function to slow the RV and the AV at the same rate. Moreover, thesystem may be compatible with an anti-lock braking system (ABS)controller which may control at least a portion of the braking signal.For example, if wheel lock is detected, the ABS controller may modifythe braking force such that the locked wheel may spin normally again toregain traction.

To generate the regenerative braking force, the system may control thecharger of the AV, one or more of the drive I/Rs, and/or the at leastone traction motors to generate a regenerative braking force. Powerproduced by the at least one traction motor during this act maycontrollably charge the battery pack of the system. It is alsoenvisioned that the braking controller may determine when to apply thebrakes and may modify the braking signal accordingly such thatmechanical brakes of the AV may be applied in accordance with thebraking signal as previously discussed. After completing act 819, thesystem may repeat act 815.

During act 821, the system may determine an actual charge of the batterypack of the AV. While act 821 is shown following act 817, the system maymonitor a change status of the battery pack to determine an actualcharge of the battery pack of the AV at any time including continuously.In a case wherein it is determined that the battery is charging fasteror slower than the desired charging rate, the charging rate may beadjusted during act 821 to ensure that the desired capacity threshold ofcharge on the battery is reached at the end of the trip.

After completing act 821, the system may continue to act 823. During act823, the system may determine whether the battery pack of the AV ischarged. Accordingly, if it is determined that the battery pack of theAV is charged, the system may continue to act 827 where the process mayend. However, if it is determined that the battery pack of the AV is notcharged, the system may repeat act 813. The system may determine whetherthe battery pack of the AV is charged by comparing the actual charge ofthe battery pack with a capacity threshold of the battery pack such as arated capacity of the battery pack. The capacity threshold maycorrespond with the actual rated capacity of the battery pack (e.g., 100kWh, etc.) or may correspond with a selected value such as 80% of theactual capacity (e.g., 100 kWh*0.80). This may assure that the batterypack may be charged within a safe range of its capacity to conserve lifeof the battery pack. The capacity threshold may be set by the systemand/or the user.

Referring back to FIG. 9, the system may obtain parameter information ofthe system such as parameters of the AV and may render this informationin a parameter area 917. The parameters may include temperatures (e.g.,brake temperature, wheel bearing temperature, battery pack temperature,etc.), speed, battery pack charge rate, current charge %, etc.Identification area 901 may provide an identification of the AV. Area903 may provide temperature information such as outside temperatureinformation.

The system may generate a graphic representation 921 of the RV and theAV in which battery flow (e.g., current flow) may be rendered in realtime to illustrate current flow in the system (e.g., from the motors tothe battery pack of the AV and/or to the RV) as may be illustrated byarrows, bars, etc. A graphic representation of each of the wheels may berendered and may indicate a status of a corresponding wheel, tire, andbearing assembly. For example, green may indicate normal bearing andbrake temperatures and/or normal tire pressure while red may indicateexcessive bearing temperature, brake temperature and/or low tirepressure. When a parameter is abnormal (e.g., low or excessive as may bedetermined by a controller of the system), the abnormal parameter may berendered adjacent to the graphic representation of the correspondingwheel and/or tire assembly.

FIG. 10 shows a portion of a system 1000 in accordance with embodimentsof the present system. For example, a portion of the present system mayinclude a processor 1010 (e.g., a controller such as the controller 140,740) operationally coupled to a memory 1020, a user interface (UI)including a rendering device such as a display 1030, sensors 1040, and auser input device 1070. The memory 1020 may be any type of device forstoring application data as well as other data related to the describedoperation. The application data and other data are received by theprocessor 1010 for configuring (e.g., programming) the processor 1010 toperform operation acts in accordance with the present system. Theprocessor 1010 so configured becomes a special purpose machineparticularly suited for performing in accordance with embodiments of thepresent system.

The processor 1010 may render the content such as still or videoinformation on a UI of the system. This information may includeinformation related to operating parameters, instructions, feedback,and/or other information related to the operation of the system orportions thereof. The sensors 1040 may include sensors of the RV, AV,and brake controller or the like and may sense related parameters, formsensor information, and provide this sensor information to the processor1010.

The user input 1070 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, orother device, such as a touch-sensitive display, which may be standalone or part of a system, such as part of a laptop, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a mobile phone (e.g., a smart phone), a smart watch, asmart phone, an e-reader, a monitor, a smart or dumb terminal or otherdevice for communicating with the processor 1010 via any operable linksuch as a wired and/or wireless communication link. The user inputdevice 1070 may be operable for interacting with the processor 1010including enabling interaction within a UI as described herein. Clearlythe processor 1010, the memory 1020, display 1030, and/or user inputdevice 1070 may all or partly be a portion of a computer system or otherdevice such as a client and/or server device.

The methods of the present system are particularly suited to be carriedout by a computer software program, such program containing modulescorresponding to one or more of the individual steps or acts describedand/or envisioned by the present system. Such program may of course beembodied in a computer-readable medium, such as an integrated chip, aperipheral device or memory, such as the memory 1020 or other memorycoupled to the processor 1010.

The program and/or program portions contained in the memory 1020 mayconfigure the processor 1010 to implement the methods, operational acts,and functions disclosed herein. The memories may be distributed, forexample between the clients and/or servers, or local, and the processor1010, where additional processors may be provided, may also bedistributed or may be singular. The memories may be implemented aselectrical, magnetic or optical memory, or any combination of these orother types of storage devices. Moreover, the term “memory” should beconstrued broadly enough to encompass any information able to be readfrom or written to an address in an addressable space accessible by theprocessor 1010. With this definition, information accessible through anetwork is still within the memory, for instance, because the processor1010 may retrieve the information from the network for operation inaccordance with the present system.

The processor 1010 is operable for providing control signals and/orperforming operations in response to input signals from the user inputdevice 1070 as well as in response to other devices of a network andexecuting instructions stored in the memory 1020. The processor 1010 mayinclude one or more of a microprocessor, an application-specific and/orgeneral-use integrated circuit(s), a logic device, etc. Further, theprocessor 1010 may be a dedicated processor for performing in accordancewith the present system and/or may be a general-purpose processorwherein only one of many functions operates for performing in accordancewith the present system. The processor 1010 may operate utilizing aprogram portion, multiple program segments, and/or may be a hardwaredevice utilizing a dedicated or multi-purpose integrated circuit.

The processor 1010 may be operable to control a single vehicle, such asan RV, a AV, and/or the combination when articulated together such aswhen camping in accordance with embodiments of the present system.Similarly, the processor 1010 may be operable to control a power system,a charging system, and/or a braking system of the AV operating inaccordance with embodiments of the present system.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present system may provide a system inwhich a towed vehicle (e.g., the AV) may be charged steadily while thetowing vehicle (e.g., the RV) is traveling at speed while safelymonitoring the state of charge of the batteries and allowing the towingvehicle driver input to control the charging rate and/or mode. ABluetooth™ or Wi-Fi™ link between the rendering device 1030 (e.g., a MS)and the system may enable rendering of system parameters on a UI of therendering device 1030 which may also provide an entry area in which auser may change parameters such as charging rate, etc. of the towedvehicle. Additionally, this link may be configured to link the towed andtowing vehicles control systems using a two-way connection. With thisconnection, the towed vehicle's battery system parameters may berendered and its charging rates and times may be adjusted. Parameterssuch as bearing temperature, voltages, charge/discharge amperage, andany related alarms from the towed vehicle may be rendered on within theUI for the convenience of the user such as a driver of the RV. Throughthe UI, the user (e.g., the driver of the RV) may interact to selectand/or change parameters such as selecting faster rates of charge of thebattery pack for shorter distances, or longer rates of charge for longerdistances. It is envisioned that the towed vehicle may include acontroller (e.g., the controller 140, 740) to monitor its battery packvoltage and temperature. Information may be rendered on the UI to notifythe user (e.g., the driver of the RV or other towing vehicle) when thebattery pack has reached a desired charge and the processor mayautomatically taper down charging prior to the desired charge and/orshutdown charging operations of the AV when the desired charge isreached.

Further variations of the present system would readily occur to a personof ordinary skill in the art and are encompassed by the followingclaims.

Finally, the above-discussion is intended to be merely illustrative ofthe present system and should not be construed as limiting the appendedclaims to any particular embodiment or group of embodiments. Thus, whilethe present system has been described with reference to exemplaryembodiments, it should also be appreciated that numerous modificationsand alternative embodiments may be devised by those having ordinaryskill in the art without departing from the broader and intended spiritand scope of the present system as set forth in the claims that follow.In addition, any section headings included herein are intended tofacilitate a review but are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent system. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative manner and are not intended to limit thescope of the appended claims.

In interpreting the appended claims, it should be understood that:

a) the word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of other elementsor acts than those listed in a given claim;

b) the word “a” or “an” preceding an element does not exclude thepresence of a plurality of such elements;

c) any reference signs in the claims do not limit their scope;

d) several “means” may be represented by the same item or hardware orsoftware implemented structure or function;

e) any of the disclosed elements may be comprised of hardware portions(e.g., including discrete and integrated electronic circuitry), softwareportions (e.g., computer programming), and any combination thereof;

f) hardware portions may be comprised of one or both of analog anddigital portions;

g) any of the disclosed devices or portions thereof may be combinedtogether or separated into further portions unless specifically statedotherwise;

h) no specific sequence of acts or steps is intended to be requiredunless specifically indicated;

i) the term “plurality of” an element includes two or more of theclaimed element, and does not imply any particular range of number ofelements; that is, a plurality of elements may be as few as twoelements, and may include an immeasurable number of elements; and

j) the term and/or and formatives thereof should be understood to meanthat only one or more of the listed elements may need to be suitablypresent in the system in accordance with the claims recitation and inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present system.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric vehicle, comprising: at least onetraction motor configured to provide a motive force to rotate at leastone wheel of the electric vehicle to propel the electric wheeledvehicle; at least one battery pack comprising a plurality of batterycells and configured to power the at least one traction motor; and atleast one controller circuit configured to: determine trip distanceinformation (TDI) corresponding to a predetermined distance to betraveled by the electric vehicle when under tow by another vehicle,determine charge amount information (CAI) for the battery pack basedupon a capacity of the battery pack and a current charge of the batterypack, determine rate of charge information (RCI) to be generated by theat least one traction motor in accordance with the TDI and CAI, the RCIdetermining a rate of charge of the at least one battery pack over thepredetermined distance, and control charging of the at least one batterypack in accordance with the RCI.
 2. The electric vehicle of claim 1,wherein the at least one traction motor is situated in a hub of at leastone wheel of the electric vehicle.
 3. The electric vehicle of claim 1,wherein the electric vehicle further comprises a foldable tow barassembly configured to be coupled to the other vehicle when in an openposition and stored for travel by the electric vehicle independently ofthe other vehicle when in a folded position.
 4. The electric vehicle ofclaim 3, wherein the foldable tow bar assembly is configured tosubstantially form an “A” like shape when in the open position and an“M” like shape when in the folded position.
 5. The electric vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one controller circuit controls a chargerof the electric vehicle to charge the at least one battery packsubstantially equally over the predetermined distance.
 6. The electricvehicle of claim 1, wherein the RCI is determined such that the batterypack is charged substantially at an equal rate by distance over thepredetermined distance.
 7. The electric vehicle of claim 1, wherein theat least one controller circuit is configured to control the at leastone traction motor to substantially run in a regenerative mode togenerate power to charge the at least one battery equally over thepredetermined distance when the electric vehicle is towed by the othervehicle.